Goldsmith is a Mennonite family of Swiss origin. More than 200 years ago two (maybe three) Goldschmidt brothers migrated from Richterswil, Switzerland and settled in the region of Markirch (Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines), Alsace. The Goldschmidts living in Alsace, France, and Switzerland descend from these brothers. One branch of the family settled in the region of Basel, Switzerland before 1856. Fritz Goldschmidt, a member of this family, was elder of the Basel Holeestrasse and the Schänzli Mennonite congregation. Charles Goldschmidt, a nephew of Fritz Goldschmidt, was elder of the Hang congregation in Alsace. Henri Goldschmidt was a preacher in the Pfastatt congregation in Alsace. The great-grandmother of J.S. Gerig of Smithville, Ohio was Elizabeth (Goldschmidt) Gerig of Markirch. The Ohio Gerig families are, therefore, descendants of the Markirch Goldschmidts.

Joseph Goldsmith, the fourth child of Konrad Goldschmidt of Markirch, immigrated to North America in 1819. After living in Pennsylvania, Ontario and then Ohio, he moved to Iowa, where he served as a bishop of the Amish Mennonite churches in Lee and Henry counties.